The Other Tendo Girl
by Kist
Summary: When it was discovered that one of Soun's daughters was living a double life, no one would have been surprised if it had been Akane, who was perpetually asking for trouble, or even Nabiki, who stuck her nose in places it didn't belong, but no, it was the third daughter, the quiet one, the "too too nice girl", who left the world spinning on its heel.
1. Chapter 1

**The Other Tendo Girl**

**Full Summary:** While the rest of the Tendo household was wrapped in their own dramas, no one would have suspected one of Soun's daughters to be living a double life. Poor girl, cursed as she was, she bore her sentence in silence. When the truth came out, no one would have been surprised if it had been Akane, who was perpetually asking for trouble, or even Nabiki, who often stuck her nose in places it didn't belong, but jaws dropped when it was pointed out that, no, it was the third daughter, the one quietly sipping her tea, the one who had never spoken an ill word and went out of her way to smile for everyone. Yes, it was this daughter, the quiet daughter, the "too too nice girl" who left the world spinning on its heel.

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**Chapter 1: Curses**

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The real story began years before even Kasumi was born, before her parents were anything other than mild acquaintances. It all started with an accident, a tiny mistake that was brushed off as nothing by the parties involved as they went about their daily lives.

The future Mrs. Tendo had been quite adventurous in her youth. She was a vibrant creature and the most un-ladylike tomboy south of Tokyo. On one of her conquests she came into contact with a most beautiful artifact, a delicate silver bracelet that simply _belonged_ on her wrist.

It wasn't _stealing_ per se, and she very much doubted the abandoned shrine she had found it in would truly miss it. So with a laugh and a playful smile, Kimiko pocketed a very dangerous artifact.

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One of the most distinguished memories of Kasumi's childhood is the image of her mother, heavily pregnant and shaking in panic.

"Where's Mommy's bracelet Kasumi? Did you take it?"

Kasumi couldn't remember a time when her mother wasn't "sick", but on that day Kimiko looked particularly pale and ashen. "Where did you put Mommy's bracelet?!"

Terrified of her mother's unusual behavior, Kasumi thrust out her wrist from which a silver trinket dangled. She didn't mean to upset her mother; she had only been playing dress-up and needed some jewelry for the ball.

Kimiko snatched at the bracelet like a starved lioness after a gazelle, but no matter how much se pulled and tugged, the bracelet didn't budge. It remained, gleaming ever so smugly, on her oldest daughter's wrist.

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It was only a few days later when strange men began appearing in her house. While her mother's color had improved, she still blanched every time she spotted one of them. She kept fussing with Kasumi's sleeves, insisting that she wear her winter clothes despite it only being Autumn.

"We can help her." Kasumi overheard one of the men telling her Mother. "Kasumi is young, we can teach her how to control it."

Her mother kept shaking her head in stunned denial, her hands clutched over her swollen belly protectively.

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It was a few days later that the announcement came. Her mother said that Kasumi had been selected for a special Martial Arts program to represent the school of Anything goes. Her father had a mixed reaction to the news; he was incredibly proud that Kasumi (at such a young age too!) had been selected for such an enterprise, and it reminded him of his own days of romping through the wilderness from temple to temple trying to learn the secrets of the Art.

Yet... Kasumi was so _young_ and Kimiko said Kasumi would be gone for a long time, years even. He couldn't imagine being away from his little girl for so long.

"It's for the best," his wife insisted.

Soun still had to think about it for a few days as he battled a storm of fatherly instinct. In the end, he aquiessed with his wife. It _was_ for the best. For the sake of the school, for the future of the art, Kasumi would go on this training journey. After all, Genma would have done nothing less for his heir.

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On the day of her departure, her mother had been crying, blubbering, "I'm sorry Kasumi, I'm so, so sorry!" over and over as desperate fingers tugged at her hair. She didn't understand then what her mother had meant, and she would only come to realize the full horror of her situation in the years to come.

But back then, on that dark, desperate day, she had only returned her mother's embrace and smiled softly. "It's okay Kaa-san. I'm not afraid."

Perhaps she should have been.

To this day, she could still hear her mother's agonized sobs when she released her tiny hands. Soun held his wife back, his expression equally pained, but when little Kasumi looked back over her shoulder she saw her mother's fingers stretching for her, tears streaming silently down her face.

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They sent her letters of course. Her father's were full of encouragement, and he often sent her stories of his own training days and his own pride at her accomplishments.

Her mother's letters told her of the events at home, Akane's birth, and what Nabiki found in the backyard, but there was one letter from her mother that her sensei held onto for her.

"When you're ready," he said.

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Her time at the… dark place, was nothing like her father had described in his stories. For one thing, she didn't see many of her so called classmates other than at chance encounters in the training area. Most of the time it was just her and sensei, and long hours of dull meditation.

"Too small," he poked at her ribs, "Better to train spirit first, master ki."

As she grew, the nature of her lessons changed. The soft planes of her body were hardened, and she learned ugly lessons about pain and sacrifice. She stopped writing home; first because sensei wouldn't let her, then later because her mother wrote that:

_Daddy doesn't need to know about the bad things. It will only upset him. These lessons are important, Kasumi, and we don't want Daddy angry for no reason._

It when she started realizing that there was a difference between telling the truth and telling people what they _wanted_ to be the truth. Kasumi didn't want to _lie_, so she didn't say anything and let her father make his own assumptions.

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In the end, they didn't keep her as long as was initially promised. Upon her mother's death, her mourning father demanded that she be returned home, and so she was.

She had stood at the entranceway, hair still dripping with rainwater, and wondered at how different the place looked.

The bracelet on her wrist jingled. It was a simple chain interspersed with silver beads, yet it sparkled softly as it gracefully draped over her wrist in a distinctly feminine manner. However, to the young Kasumi it felt like a weight beyond measure, a manacle or a shackle made for iron or stone.

Akane toddled by, still wobbly on her tiny legs. She paused, her round face tilting up to stare at Kasumi curiously.

For a moment, white-hot fury tore through her, and she vindictively imagined grabbing that tiny wrist and letting the bracelet slide onto an arm that was still chubby with baby fat. It would be so easy.

_"I'm so sorry Kasumi!"_

She could have slapped herself in shame. She felt sick and nauseous, and hated herself for considering such a thing. Her mother would have been ashamed of her. Isn't this why she had agreed to go with the strange men in the first place? To protect the ones she loved? To save her mom and her unborn sister?

"You must be Akane," She smiled as she knelt before the wide-eyed toddler. "I know we've never met, but I've heard so much about _you_. I'm your big sister."

Tentatively, Kasumi reached for her hand, and warm chubby fingers curled around her own. The blue haired girl smiled shyly.

Something warm bloomed in Kasumi's chest, and she felt an overwhelming amount of affection, something strong and fierce and protective.

"My name is Kasumi," she spoke softly, reverently, "I'm going protect you. I _promise_."

Because some things were worth fighting for, worth sacrificing everything for. '_Oh Mother,'_ she thought, _'I understand.'_

.

She was sitting in a park swing after school one afternoon when they next came for her. She didn't have to ask who they were here for; she simply stared up at those grim expression unblinkingly.

The nearest man reached for her, but she scooted back on her swing. Gripping the metal chains tightly, she prepared to spin off the plastic seat and dash away from them if they tried such a thing again.

Yet, the two men in suits shared a look and seemed to be pleased with her reaction. "Miss Tendo," the older one said, "We are here to assist you with the second stage of your training."

She stilled in realization. It wasn't over yet. Really, she should have known better; sensei had stated as much during her training. Her mother had signed a contract, and Kasumi _would_ honor that contract.

They looked tense, as though they were expecting her to throw a tantrum or take flight, but even as a child Kasumi understood the real weight of the bracelet in her hand. If she ran off, if she fought back, they would just chain her up again and drag her back to headquarters.

If she behaved, they'd let her stay with her family.

Kasumi was no fool. Oh sure, there was some slim chance that she could slip away, vanish into the folds of the world where no one would ever find her, but then they'd come after Nabiki or Akane. After all, _a deal was a deal_.

Just the image of these men dragging little Akane off to the training center, had her fists curling. Head bent, she glared at the ground. "I want to keep my family safe."

The tall man smiled kindly. "You will," he assured her, "In fact, you already have."

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Soun Tendo watched his girls practice their katas with no small amount of pride. Akane's kicks and punches were forceful while Kasumi's grace made it seem more like steps to a dace with one movement flowing into the next. Perhaps it was merely a difference in their ages, but Soun couldn't help but feel as though their was a vast difference in their potential.

Kasumi was light on her feet, agile and quick. Akane had a strong base and heavy punches. While Kasumi's style involved fast darting moves with precise jabs, Akane was more inclined to maintain a firm foundation and use her superior strength and endurance to achieve victory.

Both very different styles, neither of which were wrong, but Soun had felt (though he was careful to never show it) that there was something special about Kasumi, a prodigy that was ready to bloom before his eyes. She was the type of student that would make any sensei, any _father_, proud. She was his heir and was destined to carry on his legacy.

He was so immensely proud of her.

Which is why it was so hard to accept her abrupt withdrawal from martial arts.

"But Kasumi," he whined trailing after her, "how could you do such a thing. Have I been a poor teacher?"

"Really father," she replied soothingly, "Don't be so hard on yourself. Violence just isn't the right place for me."

"But Kasumi," he pleaded, "Martial arts isn't about violence; it's about protecting others you care about."

The girl stopped in her tracks, shoulders stiffening. For a moment, Soun dared hope that he was finally getting through to her, but when the kindly brunette turned back around, her eyes were cold and full of disdain.

"Just like you protected mother?"

It was spoken quietly but with all the sharpness of a knife, and it pierced through Soun Tendo's composure like a needle popping a balloon. His thoughts stuttered to a halt as he stared at his oldest daughter who was glaring at him with words left unspoken.

_'Like you protected __**me**__?!'_

Kasumi spun around, marching off before she lost her temper and said something she would truly regret. She had sworn to protect her family, and keep them far from her ugly world of contracts and obligations. She didn't know how much longer she could keep her act up; eventually it would become obvious that she was receiving outside training, that her moves weren't meant to disable but to cripple or kill.

And she didn't want Akane, who had taken to imitating Kasumi and copying her every move, to likewise follow in her footsteps. No, the agency was no place for Akane, her bright and beautiful sister.

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"Your shorter reach will give you a disadvantage," her new sensei explained to her, "A staff is a good means to compensate for that. Use your speed to dodge his fists, and use your staff to strike him down."

"Hai," Kasumi nodded obediently, but she still held the staff stiffly with no small amount of reservation.

The trainer was familiar with a certain amount of reluctance in his young charges. To a degree, he admired them for it: their youth and _humanity_. It was a shame that such things needed to be torn out of them so they could be remolded and reshaped in to a proper weapon.

"They're not really people, Kasumi-chan. They're just objects. From now on when you look at those targets, do not think about them as being the same as your family or me. Tell yourself that 'This is not a person. This is an obstacle. It has no feelings. It has no family. This is only an _obstacle_, and it is standing in my way.' Can you remember that?"

"This is not a person," the young girl dutifully repeated. At first it was spoken with uncertainty, but with time, the words would become cool and flowing like poetry.

_I will protect my family_.

"This is an obstacle. It has no feelings."

_I won't let this curse beat me_.

"It has no family."

_I will do all that is necessary._

She felt a chill, like a cold breeze sweeping up her spine, over her scalp and then flaring outward.

"This is an obstacle. It is standing in my way." Kasumi gripped the wood pole arm more surely this time, her stance easily shifting into something familiar.

By the time the trainees became adults, they had grown quite lethal. Yet there was something chilling about standing in their presence, something not right with their eyes. Perhaps it was the training or the nature of their work, but whatever the cause, the result was nothing to sneeze at. Sure, she might be a cute little girl now, but give her a few years and she'd be positively ruthless.

Plus, there was that curse of hers...

"That's it," her sensei said softly, "Good, now widen your stance and relax your shoulders."

Kasumi did, and once more turned to face her opponent, a young boy not much older than herself. "This is not a person," she affirmed while she looked him dead in the eye. "This is an obstacle."

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It always amazed Hikari-sensei what alter egos his new charges would adopt. For example, he had previously reared a boy in the Juubin district who was pretending to be a happy-go-lucky delivery boy who was saving up to buy a "cute fluffy puppy."

The Tendo girl, however, was raised under a family that breathed martial arts, but rather than stepping into the role of a talented student and using that as an excuse for her abilities, Kasumi backed out, retreating behind a smile and a spatula.

It puzzled her teachers why she would do this when she was one of the few recruits that actually could "bring her work home" without anyone batting an eye. Instead, the Tendo girl retreated from the family's spotlight like a fearful child. She hid in plain sight behind a warm mask, a quiet disposition, and a pleasant smile, but Hikari-sensei couldn't understand why she would alienate herself so completely if she didn't have to.

He asked her once, and the girl had just shrugged before going back to her katas. "I want to protect my family."

Sometimes he wonders if the persona she created was simply the person she wished she could be, loving and kind and caring. She wanted to be able to be soft-spoken and gentle, wanted to be able to smile at people and mean it. Maybe it was just her way of rebelling against the agency; but maybe it was just her attempt to give the Tendo family back what they had lost.

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Soun Tendo didn't understand how his eldest daughter could be so easy-going about some things and yet so particular about others. Like brooms, for instance. Now he could take her shopping for any number of cleaning instruments, wash cloths, cleaning solution, and furniture polish and the girl would put on that careless smile and say "Whatever you think is best father."

But not brooms, oh no, those were a different matter altogether. Kasumi would happily spend _hours_ going from one store to the next, testing the balance and weight of each one. Then when she finally found one of interest, she would spin it about like a baton, and tap the handle on the self, testing its durability.

What was even more bizarre is that she seemed to careless about the quality of the brush, even seemingly preferring those with less bristles.

He couldn't understand how her mind worked in such manners. He used to hope that she was developing a new kind of martial arts, and by the way she skillfully spun the broom, Soun wouldn't have been surprised if she hadn't already. Yet, he never saw her practice, and she never seemed to hold even a passing interest in the lessons he gave Akane.

It was disappointing to say the least. He had long hoped that Kasumi would be the one to carry on the school, but for some reason, the girl seemed to have lost all interest in the field, preferring to spend her time cooking or tidying up after her sisters. Why? Why would she do such a thing? Where had his heir gone? When did his beautiful daughter become so… plastic?

Guilt rolled through him every time he caught her buzzing about the kitchen, and somehow he couldn't shake the feeling that this was somehow his fault. Had he been a poor sensei? He could not recall a specific cause that had resulted in Kasumi's change in demeanor. Perhaps he had been too hard on her or perhaps he had spent too much time on Akane, and Kasumi misinterpreted his attentions as favoritism.

Soun had sworn long ago never to show favoritism towards any of his daughters, but if he had ever been pressed to choose among them… Let it be said that the reason he may have once focused more attention on his youngest was not because he found the elder lacking. Far from it. He had been afraid that abundant praise of the elder's accomplishments would discourage the younger girl.

Perhaps Kasumi sensed it too, the subtle resentment. Resentment that it was she, who treated the art as though it were a hand grenade, was so superior, such a wellspring of pure talent. Yet the one who loved the art, lived the art, breathed it from the moment she woke till the moment her eyes closed in rest, was built to be a bulldozer—rather than a masterful dancer.

Poor Akane. Poor Kasumi. Poor Soun who stood between them both as a sensei and as a father and watched as one daughter, with the careful understanding only an older sibling could possess, bowed down from the unspoken contest.

Akane would be the heir. She would inherit the dojo.

Kasumi, however, would slip quietly into the folds of obscurity, letting the rush of the others' busy lives trample over her. Her father was heartbroken, but what could he do? How could he help his first-born if she wouldn't let him?

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Her classmates had started behaving oddly as of late, Kasumi noted, but she could tell the exact moment it happened. Graduation was nearing and the senior class was abuzz of where everyone was going next. Tatsumi was going to work in her father's business, learning the ends and outs so one day she could take over the corporation when he retired. Mosina and Kylie were both shipping off to prestigious universities while Aymee was going to attend school overseas.

Everyone had plans. Everyone had bright faces with beaming eyes for the future. Everyone, that is, but her.

"Kasumi, what are you doing after graduation?"

She had tried to hide it for a while, often shrugging her shoulders and saying she hadn't decided yet, but there was only so long she could put it off for until her friends began pressing her in earnest for her _real_ answer.

"Come on Kasumi, you can't be serious. You must have _some_ idea. I mean, this is the rest of our lives we are talking about here."

Finally, after months of procrastination, she let one part of the truth slide out. "I think I will just stay home. Take care of my father and sisters."

Her friends blinked at her in disbelief.

"Why is your dad sick or something?" Mosina asked.

"Oh no, Father is quite healthy."

"Then why…" the other girl trailed off, wary about overstepping personal bounds.

Tatsumi, however, had less tact when it came to sensitive manners. "Are you telling me you _want_ to stay home cooking and cleaning after your family all day like a housewife?!"

"I want to take care of my family," Kasumi replied stiffly.

The three other girls traded telling looks. "Oh, well that's nice I guess."

Kasumi recognized that look of quiet judgment, that cool condemnation. Why in this day and age, when a woman could chase any career she had her heart set on, would anyone settle for being a dusty, boring old-fashioned housewife?

Fury rose within her, and for a moment she imagined shouting out the real reason she was staying home. Why was wanting to take care of her family such a big deal anyways?! She was doing what she wanted and that made her happy.

She hated those carefully sculpted expressions on her friends' faces, that inferred judgment of boredom, that this life couldn't possibly be fulfilling, that others wouldn't choose to live this way.

'_But_,' Kasumi thought with a grimace, _'why should we all choose to live the same way, or think the same things are fulfilling? And why should we have to? Women don't have any duty to not be "stereotypes" any more than they have a duty to embody them. None of us can live each others' lives_.'

She hated that look of distorted pity on Kylie's face as though Kasumi was not truly fulfilled and was lying to herself about what she really wanted. She hated Mosina's irritated frown and how she suddenly looked down on her long time friend as though she were a threat to the accomplishments of the gender revolution and career women everywhere.

She hated the ways boys started to look at her, either as a trophy or as something that would slow them down. She looked like a deadweight, a cute face at best, but still just a glorified maid who wouldn't be contributing to household income.

She wanted to roll up her sleeves and show them that the scars weren't from "cooking accidents." She wanted to point out the calluses on her hands, the muscles that didn't come from hours spent folding laundry, the stamina in gym class that none of the other girls had and how she had to hide it so carefully and quietly because she _couldn't stand out_. She wanted…

Kasumi squashed those thoughts firmly. It didn't matter what she wanted. Instead, she smiled pleasantly at the dumbstruck expressions of her classmates and former friends before spinning on her heel and walking away.

..

**A/N:** This story is based on an idea that was spinning around in my head for a while: an alternative answer to why Kasumi, the heir of the Tendo dojo, suddenly dropped martial arts and picked up an apron.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Other Tendo Girl**

**Chapter 2**

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Kasumi had never understood relationships. She never understood why anyone would want to expose themselves like that, why they would deliberately open a door that left them vulnerable and weak.

_Love is giving someone the power to destroy you_._.._

Love had already given her enough trouble in her life, and she couldn't understand how anyone would actively seek more of it.

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It started out as a relatively simple mission; a drug gang who was using the chaos of a carnival to cover up seedy dealings. Really, it wasn't a mission that required someone of her caliber to investigate, and compared to her usual requests, it initially appeared to be surprisingly straightforward.

However, there was something _off_ about the whole scenario; something that didn't quite fit the usual gang enterprise, and it drew her in for a closer look. She had scouted the area carefully, eavesdropping on conversations, and keeping a close eye on the known gang members.

"Hey have you seen Molly?"

"I haven't seen Sarah since she left to get cotton candy?"

"She's not answering her phone. Where is that girl?"

"I can't find Tracy anywhere? And we were supposed to leave over an hour ago."

Missing, gone, separated from their friends. Where were these girls going? Why were they being targeted?

There was something very strange about this whole case, and it pulled at her irritably. There was just something she was missing, come critical puzzle piece that was preventing her from seeing the whole picture. This particular gang did not have a reputation for abduction, and while they did have a history of "roughing up" customers who didn't complete their transactions, they had never targeted women previously.

Innocent bystanders with no contacts with any rival gangs or any known association with any current gang members, customers, or otherwise. They were just young, attractive girls who happened to get separated from their group of friends in the confusion of the carnival.

Despite all her information gathering, she hadn't really drawn any conclusions. The only information she had to show for it was that the girls, the targets, were being lured to the house of mirrors by one of the employees. Two would enter, one would leave; the rest wasn't hard to piece together.

But what were they doing with the girls?

Kasumi didn't have all the answers and her supervisor was less than impressed at her rate of progress.

"_We don't have time for this Agent. Find the girls and get me a sample of those drugs. Stop dragging your heels."_

There were only a few more days before the carnival would pack up and migrate to a different city. She had no support, no backup, and a supervisor who was already overworked with trying to track down all the missing inmates from a recent prison break.

And she was going to deliberately make herself a target.

Akane had whined and begged when she had learned that Kasumi was going out, but the older Tendo had been firm in the matter. This was no place for her bright and beautiful Akane. No place at all.

Reluctantly, Kasumi found herself wandering through the parade of smiling faces and flashing lights wearing more make up and less conservative clothing than she was comfortable with. She was careful not to put on anything bright or colorful that would make her stand out, but left enough of her figure exposed that if someone was looking for a pretty girl, she would not be difficult to find.

It was not a position she was overly pleased with. Exposed, out in the open, no, Kasumi was much more comfortable fading into the background, invisible and forgettable. She didn't like being _seen_; no agent did. It was too dangerous and risky, and she could not afford to have her cover blown.

But she had a job to do and hid those fears behind a dark shade of lipstick and an inviting smile. When the sun dipped below the horizon, she entered the carnival grounds tentatively as though she was meeting a friend. When no such friend arrived, she edged into the crowd, glancing about as though she were trying to find them among the throng of people.

A few glances were cast her way, but she slid past, her target already in mind. Last night, one stand in particular had caught her eye, and she recognized the man working it as one of the more prominent gang members.

In truth, it was the large stuffed animal prizes which grabbed her attention. They weren't particularly cute or desirable, and they appeared unsymmetrical as though the stuffing hadn't been distributed properly. '_Or had been re-stuffed with certain goods,'_ she thought.

As she approached, there was a couple loudly bickering in front of the stand, and Kasumi took the opportunity to slide in seamlessly behind them. The girl was yelling about how much money her boyfriend was spending on a stupid game while the young man grumbled that if she would just let him _concentrate_ he wouldn't keep losing.

The game looked deceptively easy, knock over the milk bottle pyramid and win the prize. Simple, but it quickly became obvious as to why the young man was having so much trouble with it.

"If you were a real man," the girlfriend accused, "you would have knocked them over by now! Just give it up already."

The bottom two bottles were likely filled with lead or some other substance to weigh them down, and the softballs the man was given to throw were likely filled with cork to make them lighter than regulation balls. Add that in with the bottles being stacked against a backdrop curtain to help prevent them from falling, and you had a lose-lose situation.

While the couple continued bickering and occupying the vendors attention, the brunette eyed the stuffed animals thoughtfully, taking careful note of the poor quality stitches in the scruff of the neck. For a while, she debated whether she should make her presence known by playing for a prize and "accidentally" winning or if it would be less conspicuous if she just grabbed one off the shelf. Experimentally, she tugged on the leg of a rabbit, testing its weight.

Apparently the stall owner was paying more attention than she gave him credit for as the slight movement of the stuffed rabbit immediately drew his attention. Sharp eyes penetrated through her, which was just as telling as the altered weight and the likely contents therein.

Kasumi sent him her best disarming smile, flushing slightly as though she was embarrassed. "My sister loves rabbits."

The man eased back slightly as the mask of an eager salesman slipped back on his face. "Would you like to try your luck?"

"Oh my!" Kasumi exclaimed, "I am not very good at these games. Could I just buy it from you instead?"

He eyed her warily even as he shrugged his shoulders somewhat helplessly. "I'm sorry miss, but rules are rules."

Kasumi made a show of pouting and looking at the rabbit with great longing. By this time, she had drawn the attention of the quarreling couple.

"What gives old man?" the irritated boyfriend accused, "just give her the rabbit already."

The girl beside him grunted in agreement. "It's not like you needs the extra money after the wad this dumb-dumb threw at you."

Heads were turning, and more ears were keyed in with growing interest. While everyone's gaze was focused on the building tension between the vendor and the irate couple, Kasumi again tugged on the rabbit's foot as though she were trying to pull it down from the shelf, and the hastily made seams began to rip.

"All I'm saying," the girlfriend argued with an accusatory finger pointed at the vendor, "is that you've made quite the haul today just from this loser" she jerked her chin at her boyfriend, "Now why can't you let the nice girl pay for the stupid stuffed animal so she doesn't end up looking like this moron."

"Oh my!" Kasumi exclaimed dramatically as a wad of stuffing and something else tumbled from the bunny's interior. "I think Mr. Rabbit has a tear somewhere."

"You see!" the girlfriend shouted, "This is exactly what I'm talking about! Even you're prizes are cheap!"

"What are you trying to pull old man?!"

Kasumi put on her best innocent, doe-eyed expression as she looked at the poor stuffed animal forlornly. Bending forward as though she meant to pick up the escaped cotton, her long skirt draped over the plastic-wrapped package. Clenching her legs together, she held the package tightly between her knees.

Standing back up carefully with a handful of cotton, she looked helplessly at the alarmed stall vendor. "I don't suppose you have any other rabbits?" she asked imploringly as she handed over the stuffing.

He shook his head rapidly, eyes scanning the ground anxiously to see if he lost any of the goods. Feeling pity on him, Kasumi offered to play a few rounds for a different stuffed animal when the angry couple (and her convenient cover) stomped off in a huff. It was a good idea anyways, to lower his suspicious about her picking up anything more than just cotton.

She could still feel a fair bit of attention on herself, more so than would be beneficial for her cause so she made a show of being no better at throwing the softballs than the boy who played before her. She paid for an extra round acting hopeful about getting a prize (her last ball had knocked off the top bottle), and by the time the last ball left her hand, the crowd's attention had shifted and the vendor appeared more cheery with his winnings.

"Are you sure you don't want to try again?" he offered her, "I thought you almost had it that last time."

Kasumi shrugged helplessly, "I told you I'm not any good at this." The package's plastic edges were beginning to dig somewhat painfully into her legs, and she was more than eager to move on.

"If you're sure…" he trailed off.

"It's fine," Kasumi affirmed with a reassuring smile. "I'll just have to get my sister a different present."

She walked slowly, doing her best not to waddle as the rough plastic grated against her thighs. Her eyes lingered on the different goods at the stalls as she struggled to appear unrushed and unhurried. Finally, she located a bathroom and was all too relieved to move the annoying substance to an inner pocket.

Part one complete; Drug sample acquired. Now on to step two.

She rolled the waistband on her skirt leaving more of her legs exposed. After reapplying her lipstick, she pinched her cheeks to bring out the rosy color. Finally, she tugged on her hair tie, loosening it so that her hair draped more naturally over shoulders, and then she swept it all over her shoulder leaving her neck exposed.

It was said that a woman's bare neck elicited excitement in men, that it brought out their more primal nature. While Kasumi didn't know whether such a thing was true, there wasn't much else she could do to further alter her appearance in an appeasing manner.

They went after pretty young girls who had been separated from their group. She was young, she was alone, and she hoped for the sake of all the missing girls that someone thought she was pretty.

Two minutes were up, and she flushed the toilet and vacated the stall.

She continued to walk slowly through the carnival, careful not to change from her pre-bathroom pace on the off chance someone was watching. Idly, she noted that the crowd has thinned somewhat, wondered where the crowd had run off to.

'_This is good,'_ she tried to reassure herself, '_I need them to notice me. I'm the bait.'_

Still feeling self-conscious, she wandered a bit, keeping an eye out for the gang members. Indulging on a whim, she let herself win a goldfish game. She was just leaving the stall with her prize when suddenly she was tapped on the shoulder.

Kasumi stiffened and fought down the instinct to convert her goldfish bag into a weapon and smack whoever dared invade her personal space. _'Deep Breath, I can do this.'_ She forced her lips to curve in a pleasant smile as her head tilted cutely to the side to see who was seeking her attention.

It was the vendor from before, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly with an expression that was meant to be disarming and yet was somehow _off_.

"Ah Miss, I'm sorry about the whole rabbit thing, but I was wondering," he shyly looked down at his toes, "if you would, maybe, like to go on a ride together?"

Kasumi wasn't some naïve schoolgirl; she knew what it looked like when a boy asked a girl out. The routine was pretty typical; first the nervousness: stuttering, a subtle blush on the cheeks. Then the fight or flight response would kick in: dilated pupils, fidgeting, increased heart rate, the classic sweaty palms. Really, it was all biology.

The vendor may have read the book on how to act shy and express false interest in a girl, but the physiological factors were hard to fake even for a professional.

Kasumi smiled in barely concealed relief. Finally she could get this over with and would be able to stop parading around like some airhead. Kami what she would give for _normal_ clothes again.

"I'd love to. Which one do you recommend?"

"How about the mirror maze?" his expression darkened minutely, "that one's always a hoot and a hat."

Kasumi had difficulty suppressing her smirk. "Sounds delightful."

.

She pretended to nervous, clutching his arm as though she was afraid. "Oh my, it's so dark in here."

The vendor or—as he was now known—"Hokaku-kun" smiled reassuringly, placing his hand on the small of her back. He chuckled lightly as she squeezed his arm, "You're not afraid of the dark are you Rei-chan?"

_Kasumi_ wasn't afraid of the dark, but Rei, the poor frightened thing, was so terrified of this whole experience that she kept squeezing and squeezing Hokaku's arm, tighter and tighter.

"Hey go easy there with the arm holding," Hokaku admonished her, "my hand's starting to go numb."

'_That_,' Kasumi thought, '_was the idea_.'

"Sorry Hokaku-kun, but all these strange mirrors are making me nervous. He grunted in annoyed acceptance (figures that he'd get the clingy one) as he led her deeper into the maze.

Kasumi watched her feet, noting the series of tram tracks along the floor. It looks like they were used to arrange the mirrors, changing the pattern of the maze either to keep things fresh for repeat customers, to increase the difficulty, or to make it impossible to escape. Kasumi counted her steps, constantly monitoring of the exact distance between herself and the door.

She pretended not to notice as Hokaku's hand slid underneath one of the glass panels. With a jerk, he tore it open, grabbing the petite girl with the intention of throwing her inside. Kasumi, however, was still holding his arm with quite some force, and instead of flinging the girl into the room, Hokaku found himself flipped over and landing on his back.

Kasumi grunted, flipping her hair out of her face.

He was a thug, garbage. For someone with Kasumi's skill set, the overkill was the equivalent of using a tank missile where a toothpick would have sufficed. He went down _hard_, and he wasn't getting back up. Even so, she stomped down on his neck, not stopping until she heard vertebra crack.

All it took as 16 pounds of well placed pressure to get the job done. If he was lucky, he would be paralyzed. Unlucky if she managed to damage the phrenic nerve which innervated the muscles responsible for breathing. It really wouldn't take long either way; all Kasumi would have to do is wait around for a minute and see the results for herself, but she had given up counting bodies long ago. She had a mission to complete, and he was just another obstacle.

Shoving the body out of view, she quickly replaced the mirror. Darkness boxed in around her, and if it hadn't been for the faint light under the mirror, her world would have been completely engulfed in blackness.

Her shoes clicked softly against the floor of the musty cellar. There was a nauseating smell in the air of rot and decay, and it wrapped around her, sticking to the back of her throat and clinging to her clothes.

.

Yellow light rolled out into the dark corridor from an adjacent room. Edging up to the entranceway, Kasumi wrinkled her nose as the unholy stench slapped her in the face.

Subtly peering around the corner, she caught sight of a short man in a dingy lab coat hunched over a simmering pot. She studied his profile for a moment, taking in his thin frame and greasy hair.

Her eyes widened as realization struck her. "Doctor" Sayue, she had worked on his case years ago when he had been attempting to drop neurotoxins into the water supply.

"_Destroy the lab. Eliminate all sources of contamination. Let nothing," her handler jabbed his finger pointedly, "__**nothing**__ the doc has concocted escape that lab_."

Those had been her orders, and she had _burned_ that place to the ground, toxins, manuscripts and all. It was back in the early days when she had been soft and kind where criminals were sent to prison instead of the morgue. He must have been one of men who escaped in that prison break her supervisor was all ruffled about, and here he was, back to his old ways.

This was _her_ fault. She should have killed him back when she had the chance, but she had been too new and green and sensei hadn't taught her the meaning of _obstacles_ yet. Those girls that had been kidnapped… if they were dead, then the blood was on her.

Gritting her teeth in fury, she stepped into the light, making her presence known.

Compare to his old facility wasn't much of a lab, Kasumi decided. Broken beakers, an open flame, jars to chemical solutions left open to room air. It was a chemistry experiment just _waiting_ to go wrong.

The doctor himself was not much to look at either. The years had not treated him well as he wasted away down to his bones, skin hanging off hollow cheek bones, and a crooked spine that seemed to creak and snack as he truned towards her. Dark eyes gleamed at her maliciously as Kasumi stumbled into the room, wringing her hands as though she was afraid.

"Oh goodie, the boys finally sent me another _present_, and here I was starting to think they had forgotten about little old me."

He didn't recognize her.

She couldn't believe it. After all these years and all that time spent wasting away behind bars, she thought he would have had her face burned into his memory. She had been a child then, yes, but he couldn't imagine she would have stayed that way. Despite the somewhat provocative clothing, surely she wasn't that different.

Was she?

His teeth were yellow, a testament to a lifetime of coffee stains and poor hygiene, and a thick, greasy substance coated his arms up to his elbows. A filthy man in a disgusting place. He was a mockery to all the real scientists and doctors who used their knowledge and skill-sets for beneficial causes.

'_What an arrogant ass_,' she thought, '_a repugnant, despicable donkey_.'

He was not a large man by any stretch, but one didn't always need to be large and powerful to subdue someone who was stumbling along in the dark. Besides, Kasumi imagined he had more than a few tools at his disposal for such a thing.

Still it was just the two of them in this tiny room, and Kasumi could see no signs of the other missing girls.

She actually had to resist the natural instinct to break his nose when he snaked up to her, but instead she flinched, dancing out of the reach of those greasy hands.

"Now, now my dear," he said in a mocking paternal tone, "there's no need for any of that. How about we cooperate hmm?"

Kasumi offered him her best "bunny-eyed" expression. "Wh-what to you want from me?"

"Oh this and that," the deranged criminal answered unhelpfully, "Don't fret my dear. There's no need to worry."

Once more those greasy hands reached for her, and once more, she spun out of the way, this time pivoting on her foot. For a moment his gazed flickered with dangerous suspicion, his eyes lingering on her characteristic bow.

She needed to distract him. Fast.

Feigning making a discovery, she slapped her fist against her open palm. "Oh I see. I must have gotten lost and ended up in the haunted house!" Butterfly lashes blinked at him innocently. "That's where we are right?"

"Yes, yes, of course my dear," he rubbed his fingers over his knuckles nervously, "The haunted house, and I'm, um… the mad scientist!"

Kasumi nodded with a blissfully unaware expression. "Oh my! I seem to have gotten lost! Oh dear!" she fretted, "I hope little sister isn't worried."

"Little sister?" the 'mad scientist repeated dumbly.

"Oh yes!" Kasumi gushed, "Nii-chan loves haunted houses. I bet she is around her somewhere… Mr. Scientist have you seen her pass by?"

"Er…" the filthy man stuttered, "no?"

Kasumi's false smile almost faltered right there. Really? Was he this dense? Here she was, giving him a golden opportunity to lead a sheep to the slaughter and he was just standing there like an idiot being no help whatsoever.

"Oh good," she tried again, "I haven't missed her." She let her smile drop slightly, a sense of uncertainty creeping into her tone. "But I get lost so easily…" then her head snapped to him, eye alighting with shimmering hope. She clasped her hands together meaningfully. "Oh Scientist-san, would you please help me find her?"

She could see the cogs in his head slowly wrap around this new development. His hands still twitched as though he wanted to grab her and sink his nails deep into her shoulders, but then the fog of insanity lifted slightly. He eyed her in a new light, like a goose that lays the golden eggs.

"Yes, of course my lovely. If you would follow me."

.

"Oh my, this is so exciting," Kasumi cheerfully reiterated as she walked behind the temporary guide. Although he walked with a shuffling gait and the back of his head looked like a birds nest, it was still easier to follow after the crazed man than search the dark underbelly alone. Hopefully, he'd lead her straight to the other girls.

"I've never been in a haunted house before," Kasumi chatted, filling the silence with pleasant sounding remarks, "and I must sat the experience so far has been enthralling."

"Yes, indeed," the lanky man rumbled, "quite _enthralling_."

Finally after several more minutes of this pretense (during which Kasumi was certain her IQ dropped at least 15 points), they reached an iron door.

"You're sister is in here," he gestured before removing a key from his thick waistcoat. Kasumi waited patiently as he struggled to unlock the heavy door, subtly slipping on a pair or rubber gloves in the process.

It swung open with a creak, and the sound of wet hacking could be heard within. In the dim light, Kasumi was able to make out three figures huddled together under a ratty, moth-eaten blanket.

Her cheerful façade slipped off her shoulders, settling like a cloak at her feet. "Thank you _doctor_, for your assistance," she stated coolly.

She didn't hesitate, her movements fluid as her hand raised upwards in a graceful arc before slamming down on his cervical vertebrae. _Crack!_ And one more disgusting criminal landed on the ground, blank, unblinking eyes staring at her feet.

Stepping over him as though he were nothing more than trash, she entered the musty room. The first thing to hit her was the pungent aroma or rotting flesh and decay, and a hand automatically flew up to her nose to block out the overpowering stench.

Quickly scanning the room, her eyes took in to two unmoving bodies in the corner before drifting back to the huddled mass of three girls, shaking in fear. A pang of regret passed through her the instant she took in their features, and Kasumi couldn't hide the wince as she noted the patchy grey skin and the blood red eyes.

'_They're contaminated_,' she realized sadly. '_I can't let them leave."_

Her audience watched in a cross of curiosity and fear as she raised up her skirt and revealed a gun strapped to her side. She had never used a gun outside of the shooting range, never had to. She knew some agents preferred it, thought it made the kills less personal somehow.

Kasum had never liked the feel of it in her hand, the solid weight, the knowledge of what it could do. _"It is a tool,_" her sensei had told her, _"That's all it is Kasumi."_

He had told her there would come a time where she couldn't just slip in next to someone and finish the job quietly. Sometimes she would need the threat of a gun to get her point across, to show that she was serious. Sometimes she needed it, like her pole arm, to give her longer reach.

She couldn't go near them. She couldn't help them, and she couldn't let them leave.

"_Let nothing, __**nothing**__, escape that lab_."

She held her gun up, arms held loose but steady, and met their eyes.

For a moment, those terrified wide eyes made her index finger stiffen in hesitation. It was a standoff. She could not let them leave, could not let them go out into the world and contaminate others with such a disease. They were dying anyways—she tried to reason with herself—slowly painfully. This way is better.

Still she hesitated. These girls were no older than Akane and could have easily been one of her classmates. They didn't deserve to die this way, in a basement covered in soot and grime, dying because some sick man thought he had the "cure" for the problematic existence of mankind.

Her hand felt heavy.

This, all of this, was _her_ fault, not theirs. They were just innocent girls that happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. _She_ should have stopped him the first time. _She_ should have listened to her supervisor and acted when she first started having suspicions that something was wrong. The last thing they deserved was to have a gun pointed at them, by _her_ of all people.

Her wrist started to drop.

She should take them to a hospital, or at least somewhere safe and clean. She should try and help them.

But then she saw Akane, bright beautiful Akane, hunched over, hair matted and her skin turning a mottled grey. Her sister's beautiful brown eyes becoming blood shot. She saw Akane wobble on her feet, her blue hair tumbling over her shoulder as she struggled to remain standing.

She could even hear the lies her sister would tell, warm whispers to keep her safe, _"It's okay Kasumi. I'm fine see? Just a little cold is all. Don't worry about me."_

"_This is not a person."_ Her sensei had said all those years ago,_ "This is an obstacle. It has no feelings. It has no family."_

Her grip on the gun tightened, her hand raising until it pointed at the first girl's head. She flinched, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Please don't," she begged, her voice hoarse and raspy and desperate, "_Please!"_

"_Say it with me Kasumi, this is an obstacle. It is standing in my way."_

Kasumi's hand was steady, her resolve unwavering, and she looked the three young girls with as much sympathy as she could offer.

"I am sorry."

.

Soun Tendo was deeply troubled by his eldest's behavior of late. Ever since she had returned from that carnival, she just hadn't seemed herself, and even her trademark smile was more dimmed than usual.

Why just yesterday, he caught her polishing the kitchen table three times, then later after she finished rinsing the laundry, she set the basket outside, forgetting to hang it on the line, before wandering off as if in a daze.

Over the years, Soun had noticed that very little could pierce Kasumi's unwavering upbeat outlook. In many ways, she was like tinted glass, absorbing all the foul and negative colors that the family didn't want to see, and reflecting back a warm, rosy glow. She swallowed up Akane's problems and assured her that all would be well, and she kept Nabiki's business practices honorable.

They depended on Kasumi like a house depends on its foundation, and her recent behavior was highly worrisome.

Moving from where he had been filing paperwork and paying bills, he quickly took the forgotten teapot that had been whistling for he past ten minutes off the stove before moving outside to fold up the forgotten laundry.

The sheets snapped taught as he whipped them through the air, and droplets of water sparkled the morning light. Soun's face was set in deep thought, his brow furrowed grimly. Something was _hurting_ his little girl.

And he didn't know what to do.

Lost in his thoughts as he was, he nearly missed the new postcard sitting on his desk, but when he finally did flip the card over, his previous concerns about Kasumi's welfare were abruptly derailed.

.

Spying is the loneliest profession, Kasumi decided as she sat stiffly on a park bench. It's hard to become visible after spending so many years cutting off ties and perfecting the art of invisibility. People just passed her by, lost in worlds all their own, never seeing the young woman on the park bench.

Sometimes she wondered if she still did this for her family or if her family had just become her cover. She still loved Akane and Nabiki dearly, but in the whirlwind of their day, she was often pushed into the background. Not that she blamed them, she had put herself in that position, and besides, how interesting could a day of cleaning and folding laundry be in comparison to Akane's duels with that Kuno boy or Nabiki's latest gossip?

Her father, bless him, still tried to include her, but he just couldn't understand what had caused her to be so… sullen of late.

As she sat on the bench idly kicking her feet, people moved past her—joggers, couples holding hands, a little boy chasing a balloon—and while she watched them with varying levels of amusement, not one person returned her gaze. No smiles, no nods, no acknowledgement of her existence.

No one saw the young woman sitting on the park bench, and if she sat still long enough, Kasumi imagined she got the same regard as a statue. Invisible and unrecognized outside of the hub of daily life.

It started to drizzle.

Rain is an earthly thing: the sound, the feel the smell. It is fundamental to the human experience. Everyone had the memory of thunderstorms on a warm day or getting caught in a particular storm without an umbrella, water soaking through footwear down to their feet, clothes that became heavy and waterlogged. Everyone knew what that was like.

Most people found the sound soothing, and many a sleepy day has drawn a lazy yawn, with the urge to cuddle under the covers nearly overpowering the need to get up.

Normally, Kasumi loved the rain, loved the feel of it on her skin, loved the way she shoes squeaked on tile when she came inside after splashing through puddles. But for once, the rain was more of an irritation than a balm, soaking through her cotton dress and ruining her carefully curled hair.

She sighed, hating her own mood. It's not as though she wanted to feel this way, yet after all that had happened she would rather sit through a hailstorm than loose those fragile emotional ties that still marked her as human. Not feeling at all would be far worse.

'_Those poor girls…'_

Umbrellas snapped open, a jogger rushed faster, and a couple ducked under a tree for cover. Still no one saw her, and Kasumi stared at her feet.

She had no one she could talk to, no one she could share her experiences with or go to for advice. She didn't really have much contact with the other agents in her field, and this was not exactly something she could bring up to her handler without getting sent in for a psych evaluation.

'_Look at you_,' Kasumi scolded herself, _'sitting in the rain feeling sorry for yourself. Come on Kasumi you are better than that.'_

She was about to stand when suddenly she felt it. Something she had only felt twice before in her life, but something she had given more times than she could count on those long nights where she pursued her quarry through winding alleys and back-turn streets.

The stare.

The prickling sensation of eyes zeroing in on your blind spot.

The pressing urge to look behind you, but the morbid fear of what you would see.

Taking a deep breath and wondering who could have possible snuck up on _her_, she whirled around, naturally sinking into her familiar defensive stance, as wet skirts spun and slapped against her thighs.

She froze. It was a girl not much older than Akane. Kasumi's stance wavered before she remembered herself; she was in a park not in the training center. She didn't have to fight this girl.

Damp red hair clumped to the girl's forehead as she squinted at Kasumi in confusion. "How did ya sense me?"

Kasumi couldn't move as her own head was screaming in confusion. This girl… who _was_ she? Another agent? Someone else with the company maybe?

Because no one _saw_ her.

"You were staring" Kasumi allotted after a long moment of awkward silence. The two continued observing the other, watching for ticks and tells.

Who was this girl? Even if she had been lost in thought, she still should not have been able to sneak up on a trained agent, much less one that specialized in stealth.

"Why?" Kasumi finally asked.

"Huh? Why what?" the red haired pigtailed girl looked confused, tilting her head cutely to the side.

"Why were you staring at me?" Kasumi clarified.

"Oh," the shorter girl scratched the back of her head looking sheepish, "sorry, I just… well, you were sitting in the rain all by yourself…" she trailed off as if that was an explanation in and of itself.

And who knows, maybe it was. Lord knows if it had been _Akane_ sitting alone in the middle of the rain, someone would have noticed. It was not like Kasumi was trying to hide or anything, but she just had this way of blending into her surroundings as if her aura exuded 'notice-me-not.'

Kasumi had more questions, was bursting to ask them, but before she could settle her thoughts in a coherent manner, the strangest of things happened: A giant panda leapt from the foliage with a roar, it's beady eyes fixed on the short red head.

Before Kasumi could move to intervene, the other girl spun on the ball of her foot, kicking the panda in the sternum. "Hey! Cut it out! Can't you see I'm talking to someone?!"

The massive bear growled something deep in his throat, and Kasumi wondered if she was hallucinating when the panda made a series of jabs and thrusts at the young woman, all of which she managed to dodge.

"Don't tell me you're still fixed on that marriage thing," the pigtailed girl shouted at the massive bear, "cause I already told you I'm not interested."

Kasumi blinked, pinched herself, then blinked again. Nope, that girl was still talking to a panda, _a panda_, about weddings while dodging its uppercut, and Kasumi took that as her cue to return home.

Maybe she should get that psych evaluation after all…

.

**A/N:** And that's a wrap for chapter two. I'm excited about Ranma entering the story. What do you think his role is going to be this time around? Same old thing or a different twist?

Like the story? Please take 15 seconds to review even if all you say is 'Nice fic'. A little feedback goes a long way!


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